Page 72 - Sidharta Auctioneer

of color with dynamic lines or various other methods of paint application.
Not having enough money to purchase artist’s paints, he often used wall
paints, which affected the way he worked as well as his characteristic
style; he turned his weakness into his strength.
Jeihan also has a similar story. Best known for the black eyes of the figures
in his paintings, initially they came about as a result of his failure in
painting eyes realistically. Finally he decided to color the entire eye black
without leaving a trace of white. Later he realized that the black eyes
served as a metaphor. The black eyes are interpreted as an attitude of
life to not be credulous but at the same time not to be presumptuous of
the visible reality. “We, humans, live in the darkness of mystery. We never
know what will happen, “ explained the maestro. Through the black eyes
of the figures in his paintings, Jeihan suggests his viewers to always keep
an open imagination about the things that could not be reached by the
physical reach of humans alone through the open eye and to always look
deeper and farther, like the black hole of the universe. Jeihan too turned
his weakness into his strength.

Heavily influenced by the works of his father, landscape painter Abdullah
Suriosubroto, Sudjono Abdullah is also known for his landscapes. While he
adopted his father’s technique of painting vegetation using diagonal
slashes applied with a small paint brush or a palette knife, he combined it
with broader strokes also using paint brushes or palette knives.
Tremendously talented, he managed to develop not just one but two or
more characteristic styles. The first type show grand views of serene
landscapes, usually featuring a prominent mountain, rice fields and
various vegetation, without any hint of human figures. The second type
shows scenes of rice fields, usually during harvest, or dark village market
scenes with impressions of human figures, painted in using swift strokes of
the brush or palette knife.
Although he was known more as a journalist and art critic, Mara Karma’s
involvement in the field of fine arts occupied him from 1987 until the end
of his life. His name actually started to gain prominence when he moved
to Jakarta in 1949. In 1950 he reviewed Basoeki Abdullah’s exhibition in
Mimbar Indonesia. In the capital city, he befriended S. Sudjojono, Zaini,
Nashar, and Abas Alibasjah. His works as a painter is more for his love of
art. “Always create something from the heart,” he reminded his
granddaughter, Sitta Karina. It is perhaps because he paints not to prove
anything to anyone but just for his love of creating art. That is why he
never became as famous as his “maestro” friends. Although his maestro
friends established their own styles, influenced by various artistic
discourses globally, Mara Karma searched for inspiration from local
Indonesian landscape artists, particularly Wakidi, who is also from Bukit
Tinggi. He paid increasingly greater attention to the effects of colors and
light. While some of his paintings became his means of conveying social
criticism of modern life, in essence his art is his form of story-telling. .

The seven deceased painters we showcase here are noteworthy, not only
because they are deceased, but because each and everyone of them have
their own strong distinct styles. We remember them because of each of
their signature styles, which have become part of their artistic “brand”. Vita
brevis, ars longa, they say. Artists’ works of art continues their legacies.

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